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BONE THUGS N' HARMONY. The rap group performs in Manila. All photos by Stephen Lavoie

The iconic hip-hop group Bones Thugs-N-Harmony performed at the Mall of Asia Arena recently, bringing their old school rap charm to the country. It’s the second visit to Manila for the US-based rap artists who started out in Cleveland, Ohio in the early 90’s.

The creative stage names of the 5-member group are Bizzy Bone, Flesh N Bone, Krayzie Bone, Layzie Bone and Wish Bone. Three of them flew in for the Manila crowd, with DJ Pozition as the official DJ in the background on board-work.

The physical arrangement of the arena for the night pushed the staging forward a bit more than normal, accommodating a modest-sized crowd in an intimate fashion.

Opening for the multi-platinum and Grammy Award-winning rap group was a plethora of talent.

Aside from local hip-hop icon Gloc-9, rising rapper Shanti Dope, and Blaze N’ Kane, there were Bone Thug’s official support acts, Ecleezy and GStackSwagg, who took the venue by storm with high-energy raps of their own.

During DJ Pozition's portion of the show, he even invited an audience member on stage for a drink of cognac.

Just as the attendees began growing impatient, the main act hit the stage with an hour-long performance that left the crowd wanting more.

The rappers consistently interacted with the crowd, while utilizing relatively brief remarks which kept the action rolling. As usual, the attendees knew almost every lyric, and the call-and-response segments served their purpose of involving the thrilled fans.

“Seen a lot of rappers come and go. A lot of rappers today have hits and sh*t, you know what I’m saying but the old Thugs, we got classics!” they proudly pronounced.

Their vocal harmonies were impressive, not something that you would associate with this genre of music. A striking combination of R&B smoothness with the synchronization of a barbershop quartet, contrary from what you might hear of today's rap artists bearing a much harder edge.

Their quick-tongued rapping style and harmonizing vocals make this legendary rap group recognized as one of the most successful hip-hop acts in the world, selling more than 50 million records internationally.

The group performed a number of their hits including, “Body Rott,” “1st Of the Month,” “Thuggish Ruggish Bone,” “Notorious Thugs,” “ThugLuv,” “East 1999,” “California Love,” “The Weed Song,” and finishing up with what may be their most recognized song “Tha Crossroads.”

The evenings' concert didn’t disappoint as the crowd made their way home with smiles and melodies lingering in their minds of some of that era’s most memorable tracks.

This one was not only a concert, but a gathering of street savvy hip-hop devotees with an affinity to rhymes of their youth. – Rappler.com

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Welcome to Rappler, a social news network where stories inspire community engagement and digitally fuelled actions for social change. Rappler comes from the root words "rap" (to discuss) + "ripple" (to make waves).